News for December 17,
2000

US
Postal denies Actovegin use by riders

In a statement issued by the US Postal team's management company Disson
Furst and Partners, the general manager of the team, Mark Gorski, has
firmly denied that any of US Postal's riders used Actovegin in the 2000
Tour de France, but has admitted that Actovegin was present in the team's
medical supplies for other reasons. Gorski has also stated that the
Tour de France remains the team's major aim in 2001.

The statement in full reads:

"Since the preposterous rumor continues to fester in the international
press, I want to clearly state that none of the nine riders representing
the US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team at the 2000 Tour de France used
Actovegin.

"Prior to the start of the 2000 Tour, Actovegin was brought into France
by our team physician with the full authorization of the Agence Française
de Securité Sanitaire des Produits de Santé, the French
medical control agency. Actovegin was available to be used to treat
severe skin abrasions due to crashes and to aid one of our staff members
who has diabetes.

"Due to his ongoing frustrations at the many claims that have been
brought against him, team member and two-time Tour de France champion
Lance Armstrong publicly suggested he might not participate in the 2001
Tour. Lance and Directeur Sportif Johan Bruyneel have assured me that
our goal remains the same  to defend the yellow jersey in the
2001 Tour. This will continue to be our team's main competitive focus
and we will enter the 2001 season with a goal of winning cycling's greatest
event for the third consecutive year."

Lemond on cycling's
black period, Mercury and Armstrong

"You don't boycott
the greatest race of the year like that."

In an interview with AFP, triple Tour winner and twice world champion
Greg Lemond said cycling was currently passing through a black period
of struggling with doping, but a unified effort by the IOC and UCI could
solve the problem.

Asked how he currently viewed the world of cycling, Lemond responded:
"I adore this sport, it is very dear to me. But cycling has been passing
through a black period for a few years. The Nineties were hard, they
were unhappy. The sport has been closely watched by everyone and has
lost its credibility. It's necessary to restore the public's confidence."

To achieve that, Lemond believes the UCI and IOC need to work together
to avoid conflicts of interest and control irregularities, corruption
and bribes around doping. "I do not want to appear critical, but the
IOC is not clean of suspicion," he said, adding that he wanted to see
a healthy sport, free of scandals and doping.

On the threat by Lance Armstrong to boycott the Tour because of the
accusations of doping directed at Armstrong's US Postal team by the
French media last month, Lemond said: "I don't understand it. It's not
logical. I know that Lance is disturbed by everything that is currently
happening, but onyou don't boycott the greatest bike race of the year
like that. It would be a big mistake. If he believes that the media
attention evaporate after a year, he is mistaken. The best way of proving
his innocence is to take part."

Turning to his involvement with the Mercury team, Lemond said he was
very pleased to be back in cycling, but he would not be as involved
in day-to-day decision-making in the team as has been reported, but
could not say more because the contract was not due to be finalised
until Tuesday.

Cipollini suspended
for February

Volatile Italian sprint star Mario Cipollini will spend February eating
pizza and watching videos while the rest of the pro peloton gets its
season underway. Cipollini has been suspended for a month by the UCI
as punishment for fighting with Spanish rider Francisco Cerezo (Vitalicio
Seguros) at the sign-in of stage five of the 2000 Vuelta Espana. At
the time Cipollini claimed Cerezo insulted him when the Italian attempted
to discuss the previous day's sprint, in which he believed he'd been
obstructed. Cipollini was immediately suspended from the race and later
apologised, asking Cerezo's forgiveness via Spanish radio.

The suspension means Cipollini will miss the Tour of Majorca, the
Ruta del Sol and the Tour of the Mediterranean, but will be available
for the Tour Down Under in January, as announced earlier this week.

Jalabert on
a new team and the Tour

"I am still
a winner," he tells Danish press

Laurent Jalabert recently met the Danish press for the first time
in his capacity as captain for his new Danish squad, CSC-World Online.
His usual relaxed and low-key self, Jalabert talked about his feelings
on the move to the team ­ only his third team in what is arguably the
most illustrious career among active members of the peloton ­ and his
expectations for the coming season.

"I am still a winner. I am convinced about that. I have won an average
of 11 races per season in the course of my 12-year career, and I don't
see any reason why I shouldn't be able to remain at the top. But anyone
who knows anything about cycling knows how incredibly difficult it is
to win and how many there are who want to do it so badly. If I am able
to continue my streak of victories it will be to the team's credit to
a great degree. It is only in the time trials that one man can do it
on his own. Nobody can manage without support from team-mates. Therefore
I am also really happy about the fact that I have been able to develop
a good relationship to everyone on the team at this assembly in Herning
(Denmark). That is the way I feel, in any case. I feel that I have proven
in the past that I deserve full support when I call for it. But also
that I am not afraid to support a team-mate who finds himself in a favourable
position. And that is the way it will continue to be. I can guarantee,
that everyone that proves to have the capacity to win will get the opportunity
to take his chance. And I will be overjoyed if that leads to victory.
But I also believe that I will experience a season that is going to
be so good that most of the time it is going to be me that the team
is riding for."

About the uncertainty preceding Jalabert's signing with Riis's squad,
Jalabert explains, "It was my clear goal to sign with a French team.
But I quickly found out that there weren't too many serious offers.
I don't know why. Perhaps I am too expensive. The fact of the matter
is that I was very surprised that there was such little interest. Only
Bonjour tried to hang on, but apparently they couldn't get things to
fit financially. For that reason I was open to new opportunities when
the first call came from Bjarne Riis and my old team-mate at ONCE, Johnny
Weltz. I was in Sydney at the time, so it was my attorney who took care
of the preliminary negotiations. I will honestly admit that I didn't
know much about the Danish team beyond the fact that I had noticed their
presence in the races and the fact that they managed to win once in
a while. But I didn't have any particular relationship to the riders,
even though I am perfectly aware of who Bo Hamburger and Rolf Sørensen
are."

"Conversely I feel that it has been incredibly easy to get a feeling
for the team's spirit. Perhaps that is related to the fact that the
team is so international. In any case, I can certainly say that I really
feel comfortable and that I haven't regretted signing the contract for
a moment." The class act that he is, Jalabert did not wish to comment
on his break with Manolo Saiz and ONCE.

Looking forward to his first season with CSC-World Online, Jalabert
indicated his expectations for 2001: "The team's leadership has not
laid any pressure on me. I'm going to take it easy and find my form
and work to be on top for the Classics. Milano-Sanremo, the Tour of
Flanders and Liege-Bastogne-Liege are going to be my big goals. Actually,
I would like to take a shot at Paris-Roubaix, but I think I will wait
a year with that, as Bjarne [Riis] thinks that it is too risky. But
I am looking forward to taking a go at it at some point in time. After
my many years at ONCE it is going to be something totally new to ride
for a team that is giving everything it has in this area. ONCE was almost
participating out of a sense of obligation if the team was there at
all. That's the case for almost all of the Spanish teams - the Classics
aren't as interesting as the stage races. But personally I feel quite
differently. Because they offer the challenges that are best suited
for me."

"And then there is the Tour de France, of course ­ it will be one
of the highlights of my season as well. In that connection I am really
looking forward to working with the plans that Bjarne Riis has laid
out for the team. All-in-all I must say that I am really impressed by
his training philosophy. The training regime he has developed is very
detailed and well considered. I am ready to totally follow his plans.
While it is true that I have been in the peloton for many years and
feel that I know what it takes for me to be able to function optimally,
I need new incentives. And that is what I am getting with the plan for
the coming season that is being prepared for me, which includes the
time necessary for structured training."

"I know what a hell the Tour can be. It is the biggest race that one
can possibly imagine participating in, but that brings terrible suffering
with it if one is not properly prepared. I have dropped the idea of
possibly winning the Tour. There were several years where I approached
the task convinced that it was possible for me to win it. Keeping in
mind that it does not pay to meet up for such a big race in a demoralized
state. But now I have recognized that I am not the best in that area
and never will be. It just can't be done. I do not feel that it has
been a particularly painful process of recognition, even though it naturally
requires a certain amount of morale to accept that one will never be
the winner of the greatest bicycle race in the world. But the Tour de
France can provide so many other sources of encouragement. And with
the plans and the team that we will be riding with next year, I certainly
do not regard it as improbable that we can win the team time trial,
for example, and that way capture the yellow jersey for myself or another
member of the team, depending on who has fared the best in the prologue."

"ONCE's victory in the TTT this year demonstrated that it is not necessarily
the best team in the Tour that wins the TTT. The team that has prepared
itself 100 per cent for precisely that task can do it. It doesn't work
if you approach the job with the objective to lose the fewest possible
minutes or seconds. It is a situation in which it is all about being
convinced that one is better than everyone else. And that is the kind
of self-confidence that I am going to try to beat into our team when
things bust loose next summer."

"Beyond that I am hoping that I am able to be prepared to fight for
stages and jerseys at the Tour. As I already said, it is impossible
for me to wear the yellow jersey all the way to Paris. I still haven't
studied the details of the route, but there will be mountain stages
where I'll have to give up on following the leaders. Normally the Alps
are the hardest for me, but it doesn't help me that the toughest challenges
this year appear to be waiting in the Pyrenees. The green jersey might
also be a possibility. In any case, I'm really looking forward to riding
the Tour with a team that is going to be giving it all for the race.
Because obviously I want to be able to do well on my home court."

Saulius Ruskys
signs for Gerolsteiner

26 year old Lithuanian rider Saulius Ruskys, recently with the French
St Quentin Octos team, has signed for German division II squad Gerolsteiner.
Gerolsteiner team boss Hans Michael Holczer said the new acquisition
would help close the gap in the team's sprinting ability caused by the
loss of Sven Teutenbergs to Festina. "after we strengthened the team
with climbers like George Totschnig we needed another man for stage
wins," said Holczer. Ruskys completes the team's 18-man roster.